Decking The Deck And The Halls!

It is great to see that some of our residents are already getting into the spirit of the holidays by putting up lights and decorations on their patios! Decorating inside your apartment and out is encouraged, so feel free to put up your lights, colored garland, artificial wreaths, etc. Please be careful not to damage the exterior of the building by hammering in nails or drilling holes. A Holiday Balcony Decorating Contest will be judged later in December and a cash prize will be awarded to the best display.

Please remember that due to their fire hazard live and real trees and wreaths are prohibited in your apartment, on your patio or balcony, and on the doors in the hallways. We appreciate your help in keeping our community both festive and safe this holiday season!

Cyber Monday And Package Delivery

For the deal-savvy shopper who didn't get their fill yesterday during Black Friday, or for those who would rather do their shopping online, Cyber Monday is a great opportunity. In just two days retailers will offer special deals for their online customers.

Cyber Monday shopping is a very different experience than Black Friday. There's no lines and you can do your shopping in your pajamas sipping hot cocoa. Heck, you can shop and get your laundry done at the same time! With a few simple clicks you can place your order and have it delivered to your home.

There are some websites that gather the deals from many retailers to make your shopping online even easier. Check out http://www.cybermonday2012.com/ or http://www.cybermonday.com/.

As the holiday season ramps up we see an increase of packages coming in for our residents. Everyone also gets much busier. The office staff is happy to help out by delivering packages to your apartment. If you receive a notice that a package has been dropped off at the office and you would like it delivered to your apartment simply give us a call, email, or use the Ask The Office form on our website to request that your package be delivered to your apartment.

Giving Thanks

We hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! On this Friday, as we recuperate from overdosing on turkey, we would like to share with you the things that the staff at Eagle Ridge gave thanks for this Thanksgiving. Plus, check out the recipe below for an idea about how to use your Thanksgiving leftovers!

The staff at Eagle Ridge was asked what they are most thankful for this year and this is what they had to say:
Ginny: Family, friends, good health and great people to live and work with.
Coty: Reality TV.
Gary: His golf cart - to get maintenance requests done a lot faster.
Bob: Gary - he has been teaching me a lot!
Samantha: Christopher and all of my loving family.
Christopher: Being able to share my life with Samantha.
George: Another day - count each one as a blessing.
Scott: Continued good health.
Cindy: Family.
David: His awesome mom.
Ashley: My whole Family and the great relationships we have.
Jessie: Great family.
Danielle: My wonderful boyfriend Tim.
Tim: My beautiful girlfriend Danielle.

If you're wondering what to do with all of those Thanksgiving leftovers in your fridge, there's a lot of recipe suggestions at allrecipes.com. One that we liked was a recipe for Turkey Pot Pie.

Leftover Turkey Pot Pie

Original recipe makes 2 9-inch pot pies

2 cups frozen peas and carrots
2 cups frozen green beans
1 cup sliced celery
2/3 cup butter
2/3 cup chopped onion
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1 1/3 cups milk
4 cups cubed cooked turkey meat - light and dark meat mixed
4 (9 inch)unbaked pie crusts

Directions
1. Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

2. Place the peas and carrots, green beans, and celery into a saucepan; cover with water, bring to a boil, and simmer over medium-low heat until the celery is tender, about 8 minutes. Drain the vegetables in a colander set in the sink, and set aside.

3. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, and cook the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in 2/3 cup of flour, salt, black pepper, celery seed, onion powder, and Italian seasoning; slowly whisk in the chicken broth and milk until the mixture comes to a simmer and thickens. Remove from heat; stir the cooked vegetables and turkey meat into the filling until well combined.

4. Fit 2 pie crusts into the bottom of 2 9-inch pie dishes. Spoon half the filling into each pie crust, then top each pie with another crust. Pinch and roll the top and bottom crusts together at the edge of each pie to seal, and cut several small slits into the top of the pies with a sharp knife to release steam.

5. Bake in the preheated oven until the crusts are golden brown and the filling is bubbly, 30 to 35 minutes. If the crusts are browning too quickly, cover the pies with aluminum foil after about 15 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.
PREP 30 mins.

Be Dazzled By The Holidazzle

Once again it’s time to bundle up and head to the free Target Holidazzle parade! The parade starts Friday, November 23, and can be viewed every Thursday through Sunday night until Sunday, December 23, all at 6:30PM.

Take in the bright lights of illuminated floats, enjoy music, see celebrity Grand Marshals and Santa in his sleigh. The parade first began in 1992. Every year since then the parade has marched down Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis during the holiday season, drawing over 300,000 spectators. Check out more information on the Holidazzle Parade at their website.

Black Friday Hotspots

There's always a bit of a buzz about what deals can be found on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving when many businesses begin their holiday shopping season with big discounts for a limited time. Eagle Ridge is near quite a few businesses that will be featuring Black Friday deals, should you feel adventurous enough to venture out.

If you need a little help planning your Black Friday shopping, visit blackfriday.com, which posts the  advertisement flyers from most major retailers.

Check out the Shoppes at Arbor Lakes and other nearby retailers such as Best Buy for Black Friday deals nearby.

Check Out The Maple Grove Library

As the winter months approach the Maple Grove Library makes a great place to go to get out of your apartment.

The Maple Grove Library is one of the busiest in the Hennepin County system with more than 114,000 books, CDs, and DVDs. Internet access is available on nearly 70 computers with building-wide wireless access. Meeting rooms, reading porch and study areas are available for groups and individuals.

The Hennepin County Library system serves more than one million residents of Hennepin County,  ncluding Maple Grove. The 41-library system offers more than five million books, CDs and DVDs, materials in more than 40 languages, and 1,600 public computers.

To reach the Maple Grove library, call (612) 543-6450. Visit www.hclib.org for details on the Maple Grove facility as well as all the libraries in the Hennepin County system.

Go get a great book to read and bring it to the clubhouse and snuggle up by the fireplace with cookies and hot cocoa or coffee!

Thanksgiving Day Meals Or Take-out At Local Restaurants

Does preparing for Thanksgiving exhaust you? Leave the work and clean-up to someone else this year, check out our list of places near Eagle Ridge to get a great Thanksgiving meal.

Here’s a list of some places in Maple Grove that will be serving up a hearty feast with all the fixings on Thanksgiving Day Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012.
1. The Lookout Bar and Grill
· Buffet
· 763-424-4365. Walk-in only as available
· What's on the menu: Ham, turkey, broasted chicken, salad bar, desserts and more.
· Cost: $13.95
· Hours: Serving starts at 10:00AM

2. Highlander Restaurant at Rush Creek Golf Course
· Buffet
· Phone: 763-494-0400 x1, Reservations accepted
· What’s on the menu: Several turkey options, sirloin, ham, several vegetable salad options plus plenty of dessert options. Check out a full menu here.

3. Old Country Buffet
· Buffet
· Phone: 764-494-6606
· What’s on the menu: All the traditional holiday staples, including ham and turkey along with side dishes and desserts.
· Cost: Adults and Kids: $10.99
· Hours: 11:00AM to 8:30PM

4. Osseo/Maple Grove American Legion
· Meal
· Phone: 763-425-4858 #2. Call ahead.
· What's on the menu: Turkey, potatoes, dressing, pies,
· Cost: $8 per person
· Hours: Noon to 5:00PM

5. The Claddagh Irish Pub
· Buffet
· Phone: 763-773-7400, Reservations accepted
· What’s on the menu: Carved Turkey with all the trimmings & cranberry sauce, salad bar with all the trimmings and specialty salads, variety of dessert and much more.
· Cost: Adults $22.95, Kids $9.95
· Hours: 11:00PM – 7:00PM

6. Buca di Beppo
· Meal, Carry Out
· Phone: 763.494.3466, Reservations accepted
· What's on the menu: traditional turkey feast with garlic mashed potatoes, cranberries, Italian sausage stuffing and more.
· Cost: $45-$90 depending on meal size for dine in. Carry out $135-$250, orders must be placed and confirmed by Nov. 19, 2012.

Free Popcorn With Movie Rental - November Only!

Did you know that each month our selection of movies available to rent changes? We have a good variety of movies available in the office at Eagle Ridge that you can stop by to browse. We've added an extra bonus for the month of November - whenever you rent a movie from the office at Eagle Ridge you'll get free popcorn! Movie night just got easier.

The Darndest And The Cutest

We had a great time this past Halloween and we were so glad to see each of Eagle Ridge's trick-or-treaters stop in the office for their special treat. The costumes were awesome, darned cute if we may say so. We snapped a few photos of our costumed visitors - check them out!

With smiles like that they were guaranteed to get candy from us, - But make no mistake, the pitchfork was an added motivator.

Howdy pardner!

Even More Brazen Back-Patting

Sometimes our valued residents have to move away because their life needs change, despite their having loved living at Eagle Ridge. In our "Former Resident Survey" we get some great responses which we'd like to share with you.

"I liked that the building was well maintained and always clean all around. When anything was needed to be fixed the maintenance was there to fix it. Moved to buy a house" - Nadia and Oleg

"Liked the staff and the grounds always looked great. Loved living there - good staff and convenient to work - Great Job Everyone! Thanks!" - Judy

"The staff was always friendly and helpful. The location and grounds were gorgeous. Hallways and community places were clean! Fun community building activities. Honestly, we were so pleased, we are sad we no longer live there!" - the Paddock family

Anna’s favorite things about the community is that “It was quiet and peaceful, we felt safe. The staff was helpful and the underground garages were great. Nice, big apartments. My roommate and I will remember our time here fondly - thanks for everything!”

We want to thank all of our residents, former and current, for the feedback. If you would like to submit your own survey to Eagle Ridge you can do so by visiting our website here and filling in an online survey. Your feedback is important to us and we use it to continue to make Eagle Ridge a great place to live

Happy Birthday To Cookie Monster!

November is an exciting month - it is the start of the holiday season and everyone seems to get busier. As stressful as these times can be, in the end it is always worth it because of all the quality time you get to spend with the ones you love.

In chronological order here's Novembers special days, some well known, and a few obscure events.

November 1st All Saints Day: 
All Saints Day is a Christian holiday that celebrates the lives of saints in the Christian church, many of whom were martyred for their faith or lived a particularly holy life.

November 2nd Cookie Monster's Birthday:

The adorable and voracious monster that loves to eat almost anything, but most especially cookies, has his birthday celebrated today. Get into the spirit by reading Happy Birthday, Cookie Monster!

November 4th Daylight Savings Time Ends:

Don’t forget to turn your clocks back on Sunday, November 4, 2012, 2:00AM.

November 6th Election Day: 
This is the day that we as American exercise our right as “We the People”. We will be selecting not only our president for the next 4 years, but also state and local offices as well. Check with your local municipality for polling places.

November 11th Veterans Day:
Originally called Armistice Day, we celebrated the cease fire that ended the “Great War” now known as The First World War (WW1). The war ended on November 11th 1918 at 11:11 (11/11 at 11:11). The first official Armistice Day was marked with the U.S., England, and France each burying an unknown soldier at 11:11 on November 11th 1921. President Eisenhower changed the holiday to Veterans Day in 1954, as a national holiday to honor all of our U.S. soldiers who have valiantly served or died in any wars or conflicts.

November 15th The Great American Smoke Out:
No need to wait another month and a half to start your New Year’s resolutions; since 1977, on the third Thursday of November, The American Cancer Society has been encouraging all smokers to snuff out the cigarettes on this day. With a short term goal of extinguishing the “butts” for one day, their obvious long term goal is to give smokers the boost to kick the habit for good.

November 22nd Thanksgiving Day:
The first Thanksgiving was 1621 between the Pilgrims and the Native Americans. The feast lasted 3 days and was a time to be thankful for a bountiful fall harvest, and to thank the natives for their kindness. Thanksgiving in its current incarnation as a national holiday has evolved quite a bit over the years. The Continental Congress declared the first national Thanksgiving holiday in 1777 following the American Victory at Saratoga. In 1789 George Washington was the first President to proclaim a day of Thanksgiving. He set aside November 26th (a Tuesday not a Thursday) as a day to thank God for our new Constitution.

November 23rd You’re Welcome Day: 
A bit more obscure than Thanksgiving Day, You’re Welcome Day is a newer holiday. Believed to have originated in a blog back in 2002, it always follows the day after Thanksgiving. The day is an attempt to bring manners back to society. After all, after saying “thank you” the day before isn't it only proper to say “you’re welcome”?

November 23rd Black Friday: 
A shoppers dream (or nightmare)! Black Friday seems to be starting earlier and earlier as the years go by. Years ago, sales started between 8:00AM and 11:AM depending on the retailer’s hours of operation. Then they started with “Door Busters” that started as early as 5:00AM, then 3:00AM! As of last year many stores opened at midnight following Thanksgiving dinner. Before we know it, Black “Friday” will be on Wednesday.

The Term “Black” in Black Friday is a financial term, because many retailers operate in the “Red”, or in debt all year long, that is until the Holiday shopping season where there ledgers are finally in the “Black”. If you are not a fan of Black Friday, another, “day after Thanksgiving” holiday may be more to your liking. It is a 24 hour moratorium on holiday shopping that began back in 1992 called “Buy Nothing Day".